[ Academia ] [ Litigation ] [ Regulatory & Policy ] [ Transactional ] as a Key Elective : One of the best features of Stanford's academic calendar is the flexibility it provides to take a great many electives, including interdisciplinary courses and courses that just seem interesting in their own right. This course examines the relationship of performance art and rhetoric to different parts of a culture's legal and political system.

General course
Description:

From the rhetorical fireworks of the classic American trial scene to the band Pussy Riot's "aesthetic resistance" in Russia, law and performance have been entangled in more and less officially sanctioned ways. This discussion seminar will address questions at the intersection of law and performance, such as: What are the ethical implications of performance in the legal context?; When does or should freedom of performance come into conflict with the norms of a well-ordered society?; Can examining methods of musical interpretation help us to adjudicate between originalism and living constitutionalism?, and; What can drama reveal to us about the law? Among other readings will be included Jack Balkin's work on opera and constitutional interpretation, Kenji Yoshino's "The City and the Poet," Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, and Desmond Manderson's "Making a Point and Making a Noise: A Punk Prayer."nSpring Quarter.nClass meeting dates: To be determined by instructor.nElements used in grading: Class attendance at all sessions and class participation.nDiscussions in Ethical and Professional Values Courses Ranking Form: To apply for this course, 2L, 3L and Advanced Degree students must complete and submit a Ranking Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students and then see Consent of Instructor Forms). See Ranking Form for instructions and submission deadline.